He put Basil in the ratatouille?!

Whenever I think of ratatouille I’m reminded of a certain episode of Fawlty Towers, featuring Basil the Rat. 😀 Now, I must start by saying that ratatouille is something I never thought I would like. But with the curious, experimental instinct that seems to come naturally with veg*nism, I figured out a way to personalise it. No nasty-tasting aubergine for me!! And I’ll waste time getting the scratchy skins off my peppers if I wanna!! Heh, heh.

I veganised and personalised this recipe from an old vegetarian British cookbook written many decades ago. Can’t quite remember its name right now. But dis resipeh iz mien nao anyweh. Due to the nature of the sauce, this is best eaten on the day it’s made. Try to keep it for an occasion when you can share. Although it freezes well enough, as long as you seal it up to prevent freezer-burn.

Bake the peppers whole until soft, allow to cool, then remove and discard the skins, seeds and membranes. Dice the onion as finely as humanly possible. Peel and grate the garlic. Cut the zucchini into quarters lengthways then 5mm slices.

Heat the oil and fry the onion over low heat until very soft. Add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the zucchini and diced peppers, and gently fry until softened. Pour in the tomatoes, add the tomato paste and basil. Season to taste and simmer until reduced.

In a food processor, blend the cashews, rice milk and flour until smooth. Warm the oil in a small pot and sprinkle in the nutritional yeast. When it smells nice and toasty, whisk in the liquid and spices. Stir sauce until thickened, adding some water if necessary.

Cook the pasta shapes in plenty of salted water until tender, then drain.

Preheat the oven to 200° C. Spread half of the pasta shapes over the base of a large rectangular baking dish. Spread quarter of the ratatouille over the pasta. Place a layer of lasagne sheets, another quarter of the ratatouille, and half of the sauce. Place lasagne sheets, ratatouille, lasagne sheets, ratatouille and the other half of the sauce mixed with the rest of the pasta shapes on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, then poke with a skewer to check if the lasagne sheets are tender. Remove from the oven, cool for at least ten minutes, and serve.